Royal Doulton heir shakes things up Bond style at Gallery of Amazing Things

Joanie Cox-Henry

The scene at theGallery of Amazing Things in Dania Beach last month appeared straight out of a James Bond movie. Aston Martins were parked inside the premises as art enthusiasts sipped champagne and authentic British beers in a pop-up pub surrounded by Royal Doulton Toby Jugs. The spectacular display was all in honor of Michael Doulton's signing appearance. The Royal Doulton Ambassador and sixth generation family member was in South Florida promoting the limited edition Bulldog Jack DD 007 statue. It's a reproduction of the Bulldog seen on M's desk in Skyfall. It retails for $70 in American and will be available stateside in November at RoyalDoulton.com.

I was particularly excited to meet Doulton. My mother had several Royal Doulton pieces and I was always in awe of the detail on each piece. I was even more enthralled with how many Royal Doulton collectors there are in the world. At this particular event, I met a man who had collected more than 2,000 Toby Jugs and met several couples who traveled from across the globe to attend.

"When they rang us up, and mentioned that they would like to use this piece in the James Bond Skyfall movie, we were excited to do it," said Doulton, whose family's company has been producing tableware and collectables since 1815. "They are very careful about guarding James Bond brand. We immediately knew we wanted to produce a replica of what we featured in the film so they allowed us to put the Skyfall and the 007 logo on there. It has been an incredibly successful piece. It is quite good fun as well."

Bulldog Jack is an important addition to the Royal Doulton collection, which has a history of producing a variety of Bulldog-inspired statues over the years. Carrying on his family's legacy is deeply important to Doulton. "In 2015, we'll be in business for 200 years, which is quite a long period of time," Doulton said. "It is incredible to last in this business for as long as we have and be able to make collectibles that continue to increase in value as time goes on." When it comes to Bond, Doulton admits he's a longtime fan of the fictional British Secret Service Agent. "I think Skyfall is the best Bond movie," Doulton mentioned. "It's just a really great film."

Contact Joanie Cox-Henry at jkcox@tribune.com or follow her tweets @joaniecox.